RogueGambit Fanworks Week 2020 Collection
by Chellerbelle
Summary: A collection of 5 short stories written for Rogue/Gambit Fanworks Week 2020 on Tumblr. Just a few glimpses into the lives of Rogue and Gambit as they spend their life together and raise a family.
1. What Gambit Keeps in his Pockets

**The follow is a collection of 5 of the stories I wrote for Rogue/Gambit 2020 Fanworks week on Tumblr**

* * *

**Fanworks Week, Day 4: What Gambit Keeps in his Pockets**

Rogue straightened, Vertigo's unconscious body on the ground before her. She caught her breath sharply and began running down the hallway.

"Rogue!" Jean called after her. "Where are you going? We have to stay—"

Rogue turned the corner, continued running down the hall, made a left, and finally stopped outside of a door, which she opened using Vertigo's code. She stepped inside.

Hanging from the ceiling in an excessive number of chains, and stripped down to his underwear, was Gambit.

"Why Roguey, isn't this a nice surprise?" Gambit greeted her.

"Huh," Rogue said as she looked him over. "And here everyone was thinking you were working for Sinister."

"Everyone?" Gambit asked pointedly.

"Well," Rogue gave him a coy smile, "everyone except me. I'm guessing Sinister doesn't trust you."

"I can't imagine why he would think I was at all untrustworthy," Gambit replied. "Soooo, whatcha say you get me down? I think I'm starting to lose feeling in my arm…" He looked over at his left arm and flexed his fingers.

"I think I could manage something."

Rogue looked around the room. It was little more than a cell. There was a camera in one corner, but Rogue knew Kitty had already disabled base security so the camera was recording exactly nothing right now. Rogue frowned and tugged at Veritgo's mind, which was still fresh.

"Hmm…" Rogue said thoughtfully. "Your stuff is just next door. I'll be right back."

"I already miss you," Gambit called after her.

Rogue chuckled to herself. She let herself into the nearby storage room, where a box simply labelled "Gambit" had been temporally stashed. She lifted the lid and peeked inside, but everything was still as Vertigo remembered it. Rogue grabbed the box, and his staff which was leaning on a wall nearby, and headed back to Gambit cell.

"Now, let me see," Rogue said as she set the staff against the wall. "I'm sure that you've got multiple sets of lockpicks in here."

"Whatever makes you think that?" Gambit asked mischievously as Rogue sat on the floor and opened up the box once more.

"What do you think?"

Rogue started pulling things out of the box. Half a dozen decks of cards, one half empty; nail clippers.

"Talcum powder?" Rogue asked, and held up the small container for him to see.

"Did they go through the pockets on my coat?" Gambit frowned.

"Yep. What's this for?"

"Stopping my cards from getting sticky," he replied, "you know, from the oils on your skin."

Rogue looked at him, and then set the powder by the mostly-new playing cards. "I find it very hard to believe that any deck of cards stays in your hands long enough to get sticky."

Gambit grinned wickedly at her. "There might be other, say we say, professional reasons why I keep that on me."

"Now that I can believe," Rogue replied.

Out came a set of weighted dice, his phone, a packet of gum, and a palm-sized mirror. Rogue held the mirror up.

"I always suspected you were a narcissist," she said teasingly.

"How else am I supposed to make sure I look gorgeous before entering a room?" Gambit replied with a smirk.

Rogue gave him a long look and shook her head. "This is a thief thing too, isn't it?"

Gambit chuckled as she set the phone aside. "Mayyyybe."

"Uh huh." Rogue pulled out a bottle of oil, partially wrapped in a cloth.

"My lockpicks cannot possibly be that deeply buried. I have at least seven sets on me at all times."

Rogue removed a small bottle of graphite. "Better make that eight and start keeping one in your underwear."

"Good idea."

Rogue glanced up at him as she set aside a small ball of rubber bands. "Of course you would take that seriously."

"I've been chained to a wall."

Rogue gestured towards him with a slim jim. "If you had any in your underwear right now, you wouldn't be able to reach them."

"No," Gambit replied slyly, "but you would."

"Touche."

She pulled out a cable crimper, a pair of pliers, tweezers, and a bottle of clear nail polish before she finally found not just one, but three sets of lockpicks.

"Ah ha!" Rogue stood, lockpicks in hand, and looked up at Gambit hanging from the ceiling. "Right, so, how are we doing this? Do I need to absorb you and pick the locks myself?"

"Nah. There's a notch on the end of my staff. Just hook the lockpicks on that and lift them up to my mouth," Gambit replied cheerfully.

Rogue grabbed his staff and spotted the notch. She hooked the lockpicks on and then looked up.

"Wait, what lock are you going to be unpicking?" she asked with a frown. "There's nothing in reach."

"This one," Gambit said, and gestured with his head towards a lock that was just to the left of behind his head.

"How? You can't turn around."

"I can turn around enough. Just pass me the lockpicks. I wasn't kidding about losing feeling in my arm."

"Alright," Rogue replied dubiously.

She lifted the staff and held it carefully in place. Gambit snagged the lockpicks with this teeth, and after taking a moment to move them around, twisted himself around to attack the lock.

"Oh hell!" Rogue exclaimed. "No! No one should be able to contort themselves like that. It's just wrong."

She turned around in complete refusal to watch any more, and looked back at the box. She started pulling out his clothes, all but his belt and boots had been cut open in various places, no doubt to get at hidden pockets. As she shook the clothes out, other items were dislodged, which she put back into the box (along with the other bits and pieces she'd taken out in her search). She found the rest of his lockpicks, most of them singular; a screwdriver with multiple heads; a pen; and electrical tape.

"Ooh, condoms," Rogue said as she picked them up off the ground. "Good to know you're fully prepared for our next date."

The chains rattled and Rogue reluctantly looked up to see Gambit wriggling himself free of several layers of chains. He passed the lock picks along to his right hand, and started work on the next lock.

"I won't be caught off guard again," Gambit replied. "Although, it was fun breaking into Scott's room."

"I thought you said it was easy?"

"It was. Doesn't mean it wasn't still fun."

And with another rattle of chains, Gambit dropped to the ground. He stretched and wriggled his arms and legs.

"Ah," he said. "Much better."

As he began to get dressed, Rogue looked around for anything she might have missed. She turned, and saw that a small white jewellery box had fallen behind her. She grabbed it.

"Who'd ya steal this from?" she asked as she opened the box.

Inside was a ring. A heart shaped ruby, surrounded by smaller diamonds, and set in a white gold band. She started at it. Her mind raced: Was this what it looked like? Was it meant for her? Did her original thought still apply and this was just something he stole from someone else? Were both options true?

Gambit dropped his tattered coat into the box, interupting her chain of thought. "Gonna have to fix that before I can be seen wearing it again." He grinned at Rogue, who continued to look at the ring. "Thanks for getting me out of a jam."

Rogue's head jerked up. "Oh, um, sure, any time, sugar."

He smiled faintly at her. "You should read the inscription."

Rogue gave him a long, searching gaze, and then slowly pulled the ring out of the box. Inside it said "Queen of Hearts."

"Is… is this…" she stammered.

"Yes," Gambit replied as he lifted the box of his gear. "But I'm not going to pop the question in one of Sinister's lairs."

Rogue smiled shyly at at him. "It's not very romantic, is it?"

They heard the sound of multiple footsteps coming towards them and tensed up. A moment later they heard Logan say "she went this way."

Gambit looked back at Rogue. "Not in the slightest."

The door burst open. Rogue snapped shut the jewellery box and dropped it in Gambit's box of stuff just as Logan stepped in. Scott and Jean were close behind him.

"Rogue what are you…" Logan stopped and looked at Gambit, then at the chains behind him. He narrowed his eyes. "You."

"When I absorbed Vertigo, I found out they'd taken Remy prisoner," Rogue explained, then took Gambit's hand in hers, and smiled at him, knowing he would feel the ring on her finger. "I wasn't about to leave you behind. Ever."


	2. First Anniversary

**Fanworks Week, Day 6: First Anniversary**

Rogue woke up and rolled over in bed to look at Gambit. He was still very much asleep and didn't respond to her movement.

As of today, they had been married for a whole year. The knowledge pleased Rogue enormously. Partly, of course, because she loved Gambit and loved being married to him, and wanted them to be together for the rest of their lives. But there was also the matter of the vocal minority who didn't believe they would make it to one year of marriage. Rogue was really looking forward to giving them all the finger later in the day.

Rogue shifted over and snuggled up into Gambit.

Even before the wedding, the attitudes of certain people about their prospects drove Rogue out of the Xavier Mansion and into a little apartment with Gambit. Professor Xavier did invite Gambit to join the X-Men, and he had been interested, but his reply had been to look directly at Scott and say "I know when I'm not wanted."

They had a modest wedding. They did make a point of inviting the nay-sayers and assigning them to a table of their own at the reception where they wouldn't make anyone else miserable.

One uninvited guest had shown up: Mystique. She didn't think the marriage would last either. Rogue and Mystique had gotten into an outrageous argument that somehow escalated into them making a bet: If they didn't make it to their first anniversary, Rogue would return to the Brotherhood. If they did, Mystique would buy them the house of their choosing.

The year that followed had been turbulent. Gambit's ex-fiance, Bella Donna, had shown up. So had a woman named Foxx who seemed determined to seduce Gambit. Rogue had two suitors, Joseph and Pulse, who didn't seem to understand the concept of "happily married woman." Somehow the work Gambit had done while he was "unwillingly employed" by Sinister came to light. The result had been a further rift between Gambit and the rest of the X-Men.

They'd had their fights, but their love for each other and their determination, and willingness to put in real effort into their relationship was too strong. Every time something or someone tried to rip them apart, they just held each other tighter.

* * *

Gambit looked over Rogue's shoulder as she looked through the photos they'd just taken.

"Do I send the one of us kissing, the one of us smiling, or the one of us flipping them off?" Rogue asked thoughtfully.

"Why limit yourself to one?" Gambit replied. "Send all three."

Rogue thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, why not? Really rub it in."

Gambit chuckled and kissed her head. "We can send them more photos of our celebratory lunch, just to rub it in."

"Heh." Rogue replied with a grin. "And maybe another photo before we go out tonight, but no more after that. They don't deserve the privilege."

"Plus there are just some pictures that you don't share with others," Gambit said musingly. "In fact, if you're smart, you don't take them at all."

"That too!" Rogue turned her attention to her post, and read aloud as she typed: "Hey guys, officially married for a whole year now… And this is for you assholes who said we wouldn't last."

Gambit chuckled, and walked off to prepare for their day.

* * *

They went out for a nice lunch at one of the fancier restaurants in the area. Rogue took a photo of them together and posted it while they waited for their food to arrive.

"Well, at least all the comments are good ones," Rogue said as she scrolled through. "Congratulations and all that. Hey, even Jean said congratulations."

"What really?" Gambit asked. "I thought for sure she was going to hold a grudge against me forever for not rescuing her and Scott from Sinister."

"Maybe she finally figured out it was you that tipped us off as to their whereabouts."

"Maybe."

They enjoyed a hearty and delicious lunch. Afterwards, they went for a casual walk and did a little window shopping.

They passed by a real estate agent and took a good look at the photos in the window. They'd seen most of them already, but they still liked to look. Their favourite was a spacious, four bedroom home with 2.5 bathrooms, a two car garage, and a big backyard with a pool and entertaining area. It was way out of their price range. It also had a "SOLD" sticker slapped on it.

"Aww," Rogue said with a sigh.

Gambit wrapped his arm around her. "We're not ready to move out again anyway."

"I guess."

Rogue and Gambit spent a light and relaxing afternoon together, then returned home to change. Rogue took one last photo of them in their finery to post, and then switched off her phone. They then headed off to Broadway for their evening's pleasure.

It was really nice to just have a day that was all about them, especially after the turbulent time they'd had ever since their engagement.

* * *

It was late when they returned home that evening, and the moment he stepped through the doorway, Gambit was on edge.

"What is it?" Rogue asked him, having noticed the immediate change in his behaviour.

"Someone's been here," he said.

Rogue followed him in with a sense of dread (they'd been having such a wonderful day!) and looked around trying to figure out what Gambit had seen that was out of place.

Gambit walked into the kitchen and saw two large yellow envelopes on the kitchen bench that definitely hadn't been there before. As they approached, they could see that a fancy, thick ribbon had been loosely tied around the two envelopes.

"Okay, this is random," Rogue said.

Gambit eyed the envelopes warily. "I'm just going to check out the rest of the place. Don't touch them."

"Wasn't planning to." Rogue paused for a moment, then said reluctantly. "Should I call the mansion just in case these turn out to be bombs or something?"

Gambit hesitated for a moment, then gave a nod. "Yeah, maybe call Logan. Can't hurt to take precautions."

Rogue nodded. While she called Logan, Gambit continued his tour of the apartment. It didn't take him very long, and he found nothing else out of place.

Logan arrived soon thereafter. Rogue greeted him at the door. Logan sniffed the air.

"Smell anyone?" Rogue asked.

"Nope," Logan replied. "Which probably means your intruder was Mystique."

"Mystique?" Rogue repeated in surprise as they entered the kitchen. "Why in the world would she break in here?"

"I guess we'll find out answer here," Gambit said as he looked dubiously at the envelopes in front of him.

"Hmm." Logan leaned forward and gave the envelopes a smell inspection. "There's a vaguely familiar scent on this. Someone other than Mystique has touched these, but I'm not familiar with them. Nothing that suggests a bomb though." He looked at Rogue and Gambit. "But with Mystique we can't be too careful. You two step back. I'll open it."

Gambit and Rogue gingerly stepped back. Logan extended one claw, cut open the ribbon, and then sliced open both of the envelopes at the top edge. After a moment's pause, Logan lifted up the first envelope, gave the contents a sniff, then turned it over so the contents slid out. A card and a painting landed on the kitchen bench.

"Is that… what I think it is?" Gambit asked.

"It's a Happy Anniversary card," Logan said.

"Why would Mystique send us a…" Gambit shook his head. "Definitely a bomb. It's the only logical explanation."

Rogue stepped forward. As she picked up wht card, she glimpsed the painting: a portrait of herself and Gambit standing out the front of a house. There wasn't enough of the house for Rogue to identify which one.

"Rogue—" Gambit began as Rogue opened up the card.

"It's not from Mystique. It's from Irene," Rogue said, astounded at the unexpected contact. "She wishes us a happy anniversary, and she hopes we like the belated wedding present she and Mystique have given us." Rogue looked back at the painting, knowing it was Irene's handiwork. "This painting is probably just from Irene, though."

Logan picked up the second envelope as Gambit stepped to Rogue's side.

"This smells clean too. Mostly," Logan said. "There's something metallic in here."

Logan upended the envelope. A stack of paper and a set of keys fell out. Logan picked up the papers and raised his eyebrows. He handed them to Rogue. Rogue (and Gambit over her shoulder) read the heading and a few of the lines to follow.

"Whoa, wait, they bought us a house?" Rogue exclaimed. "You have to be kidding me. There is no way Mystique would've honoured our bet. Unless she won, then she would've expected me to honour it."

"Well, she didn't," Gambit said. "I seem to recall you said 'a house of our choosing'."

"True."

"But I agree. The place is probably trapped or something."

"Well check it out tomorrow," Logan said.

"Thanks, Logan," said Rogue.

* * *

Bright the next morning, Rogue and Gambit met up with Logan and Hank at Xavier's. They left the paperwork with Professor Xavier for him to chase up, and headed to the house. Rogue and Gambit thought that the address seemed familiar, though neither spoke it out loud, and their suspicions were confirmed when they arrived.

"This is it," Gambit said. "This is the place we've been admiring the last few weeks. How…"

"Remy!" Rogue pointed at the front porch. "That's the spot! In Irene's painting! That's the place where we're standing."

They looked at each other, unsure of what to make of any of this.

The four of them went over the house with a fine toothed comb, but found nothing wrong with it. No traps, no hidden camera, not even a dead rodent under the floorboards. Professor Xavier had called to confirm that the paperwork was legitimate.

"Even after all this, if it were just Mystique, I wouldn't trust this place," Rogue said softly at the end of it. "But it's Irene too." She looked at Gambit. "This might actually be a sincere, genuine gift."

And although it seemed unfathomable, no matter what else they checked up on over the next two weeks, they found no problems with the house at all. Rogue and Gambit moved in within a month. After they got through the first few nights unscathed, they came to believe they were perfectly fine.

The next time they crossed paths with Mystique, she didn't say a word about the house, nor did the acknowledge them when Rogue thanked her.

"What's the betting Irene bullied her into it?" Rogue said to Gambit after they'd parted ways.

"Never bet on a sure thing."

"Why not? We did and we got a house out of it."


	3. Cats

**Fanworks Week, Day 5: Cats**

Gambit crouched in the shadowed corner of the parking lot and watched through the gap between the dumpster and the wall. Six people were in the middle of the mostly empty parking lot, having a little exchange. One that Gambit knew would get heated very soon. He had planned on not being their when things went down, but luck hadn't been on his side.

A piteous meow caught his ears. He frowned and looked around. He had pretty good dark vision, but he couldn't see this cat, wherever it was. There was a few more high-pitched meows.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

Gambit's head jerked back towards the fight about to break lose, the cat forgotten. A tight smile crossed his lips as the yelling and accusations continued, the backpedaling, the excuses, the demands. Weapons were brandished. And then, as quickly as it started, it died down. Gambit wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed that they managed to sort things out without getting physically violent.

He continued to wait as they departed, their short meeting over. While he waited, he heard the cat meowing again. He looked around some more, then a thought occurred to him. He looked up to check no one was around, and then peeked into the dumpster, and charged up a playing card for a light.

A black garbage bad sat on top. Gambit leaned in, just in time to hear another pathetic meow. He touched the bag, felt a soft, moving shape, and pulled the bag out of the dumpster. He sat back down with the bag, decharged the card, and ripped it open. Three little kittens looked up at him.

"Now what kind of a monster would throw you kitties away, hmm?" he asked them.

* * *

When Rogue got back from her mission three days later, she walked into their home to discover a kind of kitten play pen in a corner of the lounge room. There was a tall, layered, scratching post; cat bed; the litter tray; food and water bowls; and plenty of toys all inside a makeshift barricade. Gambit was sitting inside with three little kittens, a white one, a black one, and a ginger one.

"What's all this?" Rogue asked as she dropped her suitcase and made her way over.

"Oh, hi chère," Gambit said as he flicked one of the balls with bells inside, so that the black kitten went chasing eagerly after it. "Um, these are our new cats."

"They are…" Rogue eyed him curiously. "And what on the world made you decide to get cats? Especially," she patted her abdomen, "when we're expecting in six months?"

"I found them in a dumpster," Gambit replied while the ginger kitten munched on his food. "I couldn't just leave them there."

"Oh! No, no of course not."

She didn't need to ask why he adopted them, rather than leave them at a shelter.

"Have you named them?" she asked instead, then narrowed her eyes. "And I don't want to hear 'Oliver'." They were going to name their baby that if he ended up being a boy.

"That would be amusing, if my son and my cat had the same name," Gambit said with a sly grin, and flicked the ball again for the black kitten.

"Sure. Amusing," Rogue replied with a knowing look. "And not at all confusing."

Gambit's grin widened. "I was going to invite you to name them with me, but then I remembered the Aristocats."

"Aristocats? The Disney movie?"

"That's the one." Gambit pointed at the white kitten, who was fast asleep in the cat bed. "This little cutie is Marie." He pointed to the ginger kitten who was still munching away on his food. "That's Toulouse. And this one," Gambit flicked the ball again, "is Berlioz."

Berlioz happily tackled the ball.

"Are those the names of the kittens in The Aristocats?" Rogue asked with a frown.

"Yep. I googled it just to check."

"Hmm. Now I want to watch it again."

"You and me both."


	4. Domesticity

**Fanworks Week, Day 3: Domesticity**

"Dinner's served!" Gambit called out.

He walked out of the kitchen into the dining room with two plates in hand, his and 5 year old Rebecca's. As he set them down, the sound of a heavy footfall caught his ear. Much too heavy for Rogue, let alone Rebecca or 7 year old Olivier.

He whirled around. His fingers grasped one of his always available playing cards.

The intruder raised his gun.

Gambit charged his card.

Charged card and bullet went flying. Gambit and the intruder dodged to the side.

The bullet lodged into the opposite wall. The playing card exploded, scorching the intruder in the process.

Gambit quickly got to his feet. He kicked the intruder in the face and in his newly-acquired burns.

"What's for dinner?" Olivier asked eagerly as he bounded into the dining room.

His eyes fell on the intruder, who tried to beat Gambit back and retake the advantage.

"Chicken parmigiana," Gambit replied as he grabbed the intruder by his shirt and hauled him up. "Did you remember to wash your hands?"

"Yeesssss," Olivier replied, sounding most put out as Rogue and Rebecca joined them.

"Good." Gambit said as he continued to trade blows with the intruder, even as he pulled him towards the french doors that lead to the outside. "Could you open the doors for me?"

"Okay!" Olivier dashed over to the French doors.

"Oh, Roguey," Gambit went on, "yours and Oli's plates are still in the kitchen."

"Okay, thanks," Rogue replied.

Gambit wrestled the intruder through the doors and managed to pushed him over the balcony. The intruder landed badly, and Gambit threw a few more charged cards after him for good measure. Olivier and Rebecca cheered as the intruder staggered away.

Meanwhile, Rogue stepped into the kitchen. She reached out to pick up the plates, only for a cord to drop and tighten across her throat. She turned her head and at the same time, stamped her heel into her assailant's toes. She rammed the black-clad woman backwards into the counter behind, turned to face them, and attacked further.

The assailant attempted to reach for one of the nearby kitchen knives sitting beside the sink. Rogue grabbed her hand before she could get a grip.

"Don't you even think about blunting one of Remy's knives," she said sternly. "I'm just telling you this for you own benefit: Remy does not like people messing with his kitchen."

A few more swift strikes, and the assailant made the mistake of touching Rogue's face. Rogue took advantage to absorb her, knocking her into a coma. Rogue shook herself for a moment: it had been awhile since she last absorbed someone, one of the many benefits of having her powers under control.

Rogue turned to the kitchen bench, balance her's and Olivier's plates on her left arm, then grabbed her assailant with her right hand and dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Ah, there you are," Gambit said as she entered the dining room. "Here, let me get those."

Rogue paused briefly so Gambit could grab the plates, then hauled the assailant through the French doors (which were still open), and tossed her over the balcony too.

"Okay," Rogue said as she closed the doors behind her. "So apparently Julian is feeling restless."

"Ah." Gambit replied as he started to sit down. "Those were Rippers huh? They need more training."

"Have you washed your hands?" Olivier demanded before Gambit could get comfortable.

"Well, I had, but you're right, of course," Gambit said good-naturedly as he stood. "After dealing with filth like that I definitely should wash them again."


	5. Vacation

**Fanworks Week, Day 1: Vacation**

Rogue stood on the beach and admired the view while also keeping one eye on Olivier and Rebecca as they ran towards the waves. The 12 and 10 year olds plunged delightedly into the water. Gambit dropped their towels on the sand and stood beside Rogue.

"Doesn't it seem ridiculous to you that we came all the way to Australia for vacation, and the first thing we do is go to the beach?" Rogue asked.

Gambit chuckled. "Well, when you put it that way…"

Rogue flashed a grin at him.

Moments later, Rogue and Gambit joined their kids in the water, splashing each other and being dunked by waves. In the next day or so, they would return with surfboards and build sandcastles.

* * *

Rogue took a few photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as they went by on the Ferry.

"Definitely climbing that later," Gambit said.

Rogue looked at him, then at Rebecca, then back at him. "You were just like Rebecca as a kid, weren't you? Always having to climb up things."

"Where do you think she gets it from?" Gambit grinned at her. "Also, taking her up with me."

"Of course you are."

"You and Oli should come too. It'll be fun."

"Oh, of course we're coming," Rogue replied cheerfully. "And I'm sure we'll have a great time. At least me and the kids will." She leaned in towards him. "You do know you'll have to wear safety equipment, right?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"And there's nothing to steal up there?"

"Minor detail. It's good practice."

"Mmhmm."

Not long later, the ferry stopped at Milson's Point, and they made their way to Luna Park.

Olivier and Rebecca pressed their faces to the window as the restaurant at the top of Sydney Tower slowly rotated.

"This is boring," Olivier said. "Why is it so slow?"

"Because this is a restaurant, not the Rotor," Gambit replied, thinking of the many times they had been spun around in the Rotor at Luna Park. "You're here to eat, not to get squished on the walls."

Olivier sighed dramatically. "Fine."

Rogue shook her head in amusement as Oliver and Rebecca got back to their food.

"We're here to enjoy a nice, leisurely lunch," she said to them. "It's supposed to be relaxing, not exciting."

"And we're going to be here for the full hour and a half, so enjoy it," Gambit added with a grin.

* * *

The LeBeau family walked with the rest of the tour group to the highlight of their casual stroll through the bush: the waterfall.

"That's what this is all about?" Rogue asked as she looked up at the waterfall. "It's barely a trickle of water. I can see right through it."

"True, but oddly enough, I think I like this waterfall better than Niagara Falls," Gambit said thoughtfully.

Rogue looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Niagara Falls is a billion times more impressive than this."

"Eh, all Niagara Falls has is a lot of volume." Gambit gestured to the waterfall before them. "This has finesse."

"Puh-lease. I could reproduce this waterfall with a garden hose and a rock climbing wall."

"No, no, you'd have to do way better than a rock climbing wall. You'd need real rocks, and real plants," Gambit insisted. "The setting matters. Niagara Falls is just water, and only water. It's its own setting. It's pretty boring. And loud. It's just a big watery sledgehammer, no subtlety at all."

Rogue and Gambit looked at each other.

"Mama, Papa, this is boring," said Rebecca. "Can we go now?"

"Out of the mouth of babes," Rogue said.

* * *

Rebecca stared, wide-eyed, at the wombat.

"That's a wombat?" she said. "That's huge! I thought they were only hamster sized. That's like, a hundred hamsters!"

This was but one of many exclamations from Rebecca and Olivier as they went through the zoo with their parents. The platypii were fascinating. They loved getting up close to a kangaroo and seeing the koalas. They thought the Tasmanian Devils were rather boring though.

"Do you think Warner Brothers took a few liberties?" Gambit asked Rogue musingly.

"Just a few."

* * *

Gambit tasted the wine thoughtfully. After a moment's consideration, he put the glass back down.

"Not bad. I might pick up a bottle," he said.

"To add to the collection of other wines we're taking home with us?" Rogue asked musingly.

"What are you saying, chère?" Gambit asked with a knowing smile.

"Just don't take us over our weight limit, hmm?" She replied and looked out over the railing where Olivier and Rebecca were playing. "At least they're not bored."

"Yeah, we should do these kid-friendly wine tours more often."

"And there's nothing self serving in that suggestion."

* * *

"Okay, kids, please check that you've packed everything and you haven't dropped anything under the bed or something," Rogue called out.

"Yes mama!" "Already have!"

Rogue turned back to her own packing, just in time to see Gambit trying to fit a pair of towels into his suitcase.

"Are those the hotel towels?" she asked.

"Maaayyybee…" Gambit replied as he shoved them in.

"Remy, they have our credit card. They'll just charge us for them as soon—"

"Shh! Don't take the fun out of it."

"It's not stealing if we still end up paying for them."

Gambit pouted at her.

"Don't give me that look. Just because you're deluding yourself into thinking that taking the hotel towels is stealing—"

"Moi? Delude myself?"

"I'm sure that there's plenty of stuff between here and the airport that you can genuinely steal."

Gambit considered that for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right. Plus, airports are way more fun to steal from: more security."

Rogue resumed her packing as Gambit pulled the towels back out of his suitcase.


End file.
